Topic Multimedia. Authoring and Scripting INTRODUCTION LEARNING OUTCOMES

Transcription

1 Topic Multimedia 6 Authoring and Scripting LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Describe multimedia authoring, paradigm, and tools; and 2. Discuss multimedia scripting and programming. INTRODUCTION By now you should be familiar with the processes involved in multimedia development (explained in Topic 5). In this topic we will first learn basic multimedia authoring and scripting concepts. Then we will study about the main approach to develop a multimedia software or application. Let me start with an analogy. Have you ever seen someone arranging flowers in a vase? He or she normally needs various colours and types of flowers. Similarly, with multimedia we need the elements such as images, video, text, etc. So with multimedia also you can create a beautiful and engaging multimedia arrangement of those elements with the help of an authoring tool. In addition, in this topic you will learn about multimedia programming and we will identify the common scripting languages used to develop multimedia. Finally you will also learn how multimedia content can be developed for the web.

2 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING What is Multimedia Authoring? Multimedia authoring is defined as the assembly and synchronisation of all the media components prepared for a multimedia application. It can be done using a software application known as an authoring tool. Thus the authoring tool is used to create an interactive multimedia application or presentation. In recent years, many multimedia authoring tools have been developed e.g. Authorware and Flash. To author interactive multimedia presentations is much more complex than authoring merely audio visual or textual applications (Bulterman and Hardman, 2005). Multimedia authoring is a resource demanding and knowledge-intensive process. Hence it can be an extremely complicated activity for a user new to multimedia authoring. Multimedia authoring is a program which has built-in elements for the development of interactive multimedia software. Authoring is just a speeded up version of programming. You do not need however, to know the details of a programming language. What you do need though is the skill to use the icons and menus available to create a new interactive or linear multimedia application. Figure 6.1 shows an example of an educational multimedia application created with a multimedia authoring tool. A multimedia authoring tool provides the important framework that you need to organise your multimedia resources such as graphics, text, video etc. Figure 6.1: An educational multimedia application (Source:

3 96 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING Authoring Paradigm Multimedia authoring paradigms, also known as authoring metaphors is an authoring concept used to represent the tools interface concept to the user. The authoring system accomplishes its task through the use of these paradigms or metaphors. There are various multimedia authoring paradigms. A number of different authoring paradigms can be identified based on how you interact with them. Basic paradigms are icon- or flowchart-based, card- or page-based, and timelinebased, described below: (a) Icon or Flowchart-based In this authoring paradigm, you need to organise the multimedia elements and events (such as clicking) in a structural process. The core of the paradigm is the Icon Palette that contains possible functions and the flow line. Examples of iconic or flowchart-based authoring tools are Authorware and Toolbook (refer to Figure 6.2). Figure 6.2: Macromedia Authorware Iconic/Flow Control (Source: This metaphor lets you see visually the flow of your program. You can opt to use this paradigm if the nature of your project is a short development project. (b) Card or Page-based In this authoring system, multimedia elements are organised using a card or page as the basic unit of organization. Just as a book may consist of hundreds of pages, in this authoring system, a new multimedia application may be composed of many cards.

4 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING 97 As in reading a book, in this authoring tool too you can jump to any page you wish, linked usually by some programming logic. Examples of cardbased tools include Multimedia ToolBook and HyperCard. The advantage of using this metaphor is that you can see clearly the relationship between your multimedia pages or cards. (c) Timeline-based Thanks to the timeline metaphor, authoring tools have become easier. The timeline metaphor basically includes a timeline representation to allow you to specify the sequence of animations and interactions (Kurihara, Vronay, & Igarashi, 2005). Figure 6.3 shows a sample of a timeline used to visualise the evolution of the spider. Figure 6.3: Timeline of the evolution of the spider Source: The timeline-based tool uses a music score as its primary authoring metaphor. The synchronous elements are shown horizontally. The media elements and events are organised along this time-line. The timeline-based tool allows you to precisely control the temporal characteristics of your multimedia application. You can drag your multimedia element on the same frame to make sure that they appear simultaneously. Some examples of timeline-based tools are Flash, Director, and Power Media. Figure 6.4 shows a Director Score window with the timeline. Figure 6.4: Director Score window Source:

5 98 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING Authoring Software and Tools Multimedia authoring software is designed to help you to create an interactive or linear multimedia application. It contains tools for making a complete multimedia presentation such as corporate presentations or teaching materials (if you are a teacher). You may also create your own family animated albums, or even screen savers using this tool. The most popular tools are Flash, Director, and Authorware. (a) Flash Adobe Flash is widely used to create multimedia-rich content. You can even use it to create an advertisement. Flash file (in.swf extension) can be embedded in your HTML file to be uploaded to the Internet. The advantage of this tool is that is produces vector graphics. Previously known as Macromedia Flash, this tool is commonly used for the Web. Figure 6.5 shows the Flash design environment with the timeline and the stage. Figure 6.5: The Flash MX authoring environment Source: (b) Director Director is a professional multimedia authoring tool. It comes together with broad media support for various media types for high-performance and industry-quality multimedia production. The applications that you have created using Flash can be distributed using CDs, DVDs, kiosks, or the

6 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING 99 Internet. Director has been a best-selling multimedia authoring program. It was once the leading tool for creating interactive media products. This tool is based on the concept of a movie containing one or more casts. It uses the movie metaphor and still can be used to develop interactive applications with interactive buttons, etc. It follows the cast/score/scripting paradigm, same as Flash. You can use this software to create dazzling animations or short films. You can even create interactive product demonstrations or online learning applications. What you really need is a bit of creativity. Figure 6.6 shows the Director authoring environment. Figure 6.6: Director authoring environment Source: (c) Authorware Authorware is now the top visual authoring tool for creating rich-media applications. Authorware supports interactive application development with hyperlinks and integrated animation. Figure 6.7 shows the Authorware design environment.

7 100 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING Figure 6.7: Authorware environment Source: SELF-CHECK Define multimedia authoring. 2. Draw a table to differentiate the various authoring paradigms. 3. Discuss the characteristics of three main multimedia authoring tools. 6.2 MULTIMEDIA SCRIPTING AND PROGRAMMING Scripting and Programming Language Multimedia programming has been growing tremendously over several decades (Wang, Boujemaa & Chen, 2007). Script-based tools depend principally on a scripting language for programming. The production of a dynamic website may utilise tools such as Flash, Authorware and Director but with strong scripting. Examples of command programming software are C++ and Visual Basic. It is useful to create new applications such as a catalogue or a salary payment program. Scripting language is the closest form to traditional programming. Examples of scripting language are Lingo for Director and ActionScript for Flash. Scripting allows you to incorporate

8 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING 101 interactivity and non-linearity in your multimedia design. Compared to complete packages of programming languages such as C++ and Pascal, scripting languages do not have much complex features. Figure 6.8: Flash Action Script Source: In scripting command, the action in Figure 6.8 is similar to: on (release) { play (); } Web-based Multimedia In recent years web-based applications have become more and more popular in computer-based applications. Hence learning and mastering web programming environment, techniques, and methods have become essential for multimedia designers. Development of web-based information systems with forms processing and database applications may involve web programming using ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, etc. A powerful multimedia application now hence needs to be developed using a high-end programming language. To index and retrieve large quantities of multimedia data results of a search presents a highly difficult and challenging problem. To add more interactivity on the web, Dynamic HTML (DHTML) scripts can be used to create a more dynamic website menu. Many web developers use this type of menu style to provide a user-friendly interface with clear webpage hierarchical levels. Figure 6.9 shows an example of a DHTML menu.

9 102 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING Figure 6.9: DHTML Menu Source: SELF-CHECK What do you understand about multimedia scripting? 2. What are the other capabilities of DHTML? The Best-Value Tool Suite for Creating Multimedia Presentations, Movies, and Podcasts! MediaWorks combines simple-to-use video, sound, animation and paint editors with a powerful multimedia authoring program. Easily create amazing "movie-type" productions that are difficult or not possible in other consumer-level movie and slide show editors, and precisely-timed linear and interactive presentations without the learning curve and expense of high-end media editing and authoring tools. Use your exported movies in other applications or deliver on a consumer DVD player, ipod, iphone, Apple TV, YouTube, or other web pages. Deliver your finished presentations on a computer or data CD/DVD. ( Based on the information above, discuss the specifications of the powerful multimedia authoring tool.

10 TOPIC 6 MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING AND SCRIPTING 103 Multimedia authoring is the process to assemble multimedia components using an authoring tool. Multimedia authoring paradigms or metaphors is the authoring concept to represent the authoring tools interface concept. Basic multimedia paradigms are icon- or flowchart-based, card- or pagebased, and timeline-based. The most popular authoring tools are Flash, Director, and Authorware. Script-based techniques add power to create more interactive multimedia authoring. Compared to a complete package of programming languages, a scripting language does not have complex features. Development of web-based information systems with forms processing and database applications may involve web programming using ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, etc. Authoring Software Authoring Tools Card/Page-Based Paradigm DHTML Icon/Flow-Chart Based Paradigm Multimedia Authoring Multimedia Programming Multimedia Scripting Timeline-Based Paradigm Web-based Multimedia Bulterman, D. C., & Hardman, L. (2005). Structured multimedia authoring. ACM Trans. Multimedia comput. Commun. Appl., 1(1), Kurihara, K., Vronay, D., & Igarashi, T. (2005). Flexible timeline user interface using constraints. CHI '05 Extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems, Wang, J. Z., Boujemaa, N., & Chen, Y. (2007). High diversity transforms multimedia information retrieval into a cross-cutting field: Report on the 8th Workshop on Multimedia Information Retrieval. SIGMOD rec., 36 (1),